HR & People Ops
SHRM-CP / SHRM-SCP Prep
A five-day intensive for HR professionals preparing to sit for the SHRM Certified Professional (SHRM-CP) or SHRM Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP) exam. Aligned to the current SHRM Body of Applied Skills and Knowledge (BASK), with deep coverage of the situational-judgement (SJ) item format that distinguishes SHRM from other HR credentials. Curriculum supports both CP and SCP candidates.
- Format
- Live virtual, in-person, or private on-site
- Duration
- 1 week
- Level
- Practitioner
- From
- $2995.00
About this course
Course overview
The HR cert that demands judgement, not just knowledge — and the prep course that teaches it.
SHRM's exam is the credential most senior HR practitioners actually use, and it's deliberately harder than HRCI's PHR/SPHR for a reason: half the items are situational-judgement (SJ) format, which means knowing the rule isn't enough — you have to pick the answer SHRM thinks is most-correct in a specific HR-context scenario. That's the skill this bootcamp drills.
Day 1 covers exam orientation and behavioral competencies (Leadership and Interpersonal). Day 2 covers Business and Decision-making competencies. Days 3–4 go deep on the three HR Knowledge Domains: People, Organization, and Workplace. Day 5 integrates everything with a timed mock exam, item-by-item debrief, and a 30-day study plan tuned to the BASK weight allocation. Whether you sit for CP (operational lens) or SCP (strategic / enterprise lens), the curriculum supports both.
Learning outcomes
What you'll learn
Every module is tied to an outcome you can bring back to your team the next day.
- Apply the eight SHRM behavioral competencies — leadership, ethical practice, relationship management, communication, business acumen, consultation, critical evaluation, global and cultural effectiveness
- Apply HR Knowledge Domain content across People (talent, engagement, L&D, total rewards), Organization (HR strategy, function structure, technology), and Workplace (global, DEI, risk, CSR, employment law)
- Read and answer SHRM situational-judgement items by separating distractors from the most-correct response, including the cross-domain items that mix behavioral and knowledge content
- Distinguish between SHRM-CP and SHRM-SCP framing — operational vs strategic / enterprise — and choose the right exam based on your role and experience
- Apply U.S. employment law (Title VII, ADA, ADEA, FLSA, FMLA, NLRA, OSHA, ERISA, USERRA) at the level the SHRM exam tests
- Use HR metrics, evidence, and analytics to inform decisions instead of intuition (the Critical Evaluation behavioral competency)
- Sit for SHRM-CP or SHRM-SCP after a 30-day post-bootcamp study plan tuned to BASK weight allocation
Audience
Who it's for
- HR generalists, HRBPs, and HR managers preparing to sit for SHRM-CP (operational tier)
- Senior HR managers, directors, VPs of HR, and CHRO-track candidates preparing for SHRM-SCP (strategic tier)
- HR professionals re-certifying who want a structured refresh before retaking
- People managers and operations leaders moving into formal HR roles
- HR consultants and contractors who need the SHRM credential for client engagements
Course structure
Syllabus
A structured path from core concepts to applied practice.
Day 1 — SHRM Exam Orientation and Behavioral Competencies
- SHRM-CP vs SHRM-SCP — eligibility, audience, and choosing the right credential
- BASK structure, exam blueprint, and the SJ-vs-knowledge item formats
- Leadership and Ethical Practice — leading the function, ethical conduct, conflicts of interest
- Relationship Management and Communication — stakeholder management, conflict resolution, HR communication
- Practice Lab: SJ-format items on leadership and ethical practice
Day 2 — Business Acumen, Consultation, Critical Evaluation
- Reading P&L, balance sheet, cash flow from an HR seat; HR's role in strategic planning
- Internal-consultant model — discovery, diagnosis, recommendation, implementation
- HR metrics: turnover, time-to-fill, cost-per-hire, engagement scores, learning ROI
- Evidence-based HR — designing studies, reading research, avoiding common HR-decision biases
- Global and Cultural Effectiveness — cross-cultural HR, expat/repatriation, multi-jurisdiction labor regs
Day 3 — People Knowledge Domain
- Talent acquisition: workforce planning, sourcing, structured interviews, selection assessments, onboarding
- Employee engagement: Q12, Utrecht, drivers of engagement, the action-after-the-survey playbook
- Retention strategy: stay interviews, exit interviews, predictive turnover modeling
- Learning & Development: needs analysis, design, delivery, Kirkpatrick evaluation
- Total Rewards: compensation philosophy, base + variable + equity, benefits, recognition
Day 4 — Organization and Workplace Knowledge Domains
- Organization: HR strategic planning, function structure, organizational effectiveness, change management
- HR technology: HRIS, ATS, LMS, performance and engagement platforms
- Employment law: Title VII, ADA, ADEA, FLSA, FMLA, NLRA, OSHA, ERISA, USERRA
- Risk management: workplace safety, harassment prevention, workers' compensation, BCP/DR for HR
- DEI and CSR: inclusive-leadership behaviors, sustainability reporting, HR's role in ESG
Day 5 — Integration, Mock Exam, and Study Planning
- CP vs SCP differentiation — strategic-vs-operational lens and SCP-only enterprise emphasis
- Cross-domain SJ scenarios where behavioral competencies meet knowledge domains
- Timed practice exam (50 items, ~90 min) with item-by-item debrief and rationale
- Personalized 30-day study plan: BASK weight allocation, SHRM Learning System sequencing
- Exam-day strategy: pacing, flagging, mode-switching between SJ and knowledge items, fatigue management
Public cohorts
Upcoming sessions
Secure your seat in a live, instructor-led cohort. Private team deliveries available on request.
No public cohorts on the calendar yet.
We run this course as a private team cohort on demand, or you can be the first to know when the next public date drops.
Frequently asked questions
Still have questions?
How do I know if I should sit for CP or SCP?
What's the SHRM eligibility requirement?
Is the exam included in the price?
How is this different from PHR / SPHR Prep?
Can this be delivered as a private cohort?
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